Realising Democracy

The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to electoral law and contains papers of high quality over a wide range of areas. … – John Kernick, Law Society (NSW) Journal, Vol 42(9), October 2004, 101

One of the strengths of this book is that in a series of short chapters it provides useful summaries of various areas of electoral law at a level that is accessible to both students and the non-lawyer. While the authors predominantly have legal backgrounds and cover issues from a legal perspective, this is leavened by the contributions of political scientists and electoral administrators. The editors have managed to corral a range of disparate papers into coherent themes. While a few of the chapters are perhaps overly descriptive, there is something in this book for anyone with an interest in elections and the political process. – Alternative Law Journal, Vol 29 No 3, June 2004

There is too much content in this book to do justice to all of it in the confines of a single review. Taken as a whole, the collection forms a well-balanced, informative and quite readable overview of Australian electoral law. There is much about the issues discussed therein that will be familiar to election law aficionados from other jurisdictions, and much about the Australian response to those issues to make them think about their own backyards. For this reason, the appearance of this work is welcome, and it is wholeheartedly recommended. – Election Law Journal, Vol 3 No 2, 2004

Interest in the regulation of elections has increased globally since the debacle of Florida in 2000. In Australia, awareness has been heightened since the One Nation/Hanson litigation and its publication is particularly timely given that a range of amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 have recently been introduced into the federal parliament covering issues ranging from electoral roll integrity, roll use and representation of Northern Territory electors. …

The contributors come from diverse backgrounds, including the various electoral commissions, academia and practice, and most of the names will be familiar to observers of developments in electoral law in Australia.

Realising Democracy covers a catholic range of matters relating to electoral law. Matters analysed include campaign finance reform, electoral bribery, party registration and preselections (timely given the hard-fought Liberal Party preselection in Wentworth), the intersection with the Constitution, and the role of Courts in reviewing electoral administration. The book also contains a set of very practical and useful analyses by seasoned experts in their chosen fields on the independence of the AEC, the role of scrutineers in Australia, and the practice of disputed elections. The book also covers an international dimension by including lessons from Florida 2000 and a discussion of the distinctiveness of Australian electoral law.

This book is an important and welcome contribution to the public discussion of electoral regulation. – Ethos (Law Society of the ACT) No 192, March 2004